On March 28, 2018, the Ontario government tabled its 2018 Budget, A Plan for Care and Opportunity and introduced Bill 31, the Plan for Care and Opportunity Act (Budget Measures), 2018. The Budget outlines key initiatives around retirement security and pension reform, healthcare, education, further initiatives to specifically address gender equality issues, representation of women, and more…
Publication Type: Article
It’s All in the Timing – Minimum Standards and When Employees Are Considered to be “Working”
In this edition of the Monitor, we will summarize a few recent cases on the topic of when an employee is “working” and entitled to compensation. These cases demonstrate that not all travel time is compensable, that pre-employment training time can be compensable, and that an employer can determine that a meal break must be taken in the workplace as long as it is uninterrupted.
Federal Budget 2018
On February 27, 2018 the federal government tabled its 2018 Budget, Equality & Growth: A Strong Middle Class (Budget). The Budget contains several key initiatives, including a new Employment Insurance parental sharing benefit, the permanent extension and expansion of the Employment Insurance Working While on Claim pilot project…
Employers Take Note: New ESA Poster Published by the Ministry of Labour
In light of the changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) brought about by Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, the Ministry of Labour has published a revised version of the ESA poster (Version 7.0) which is required to be posted by employers in a conspicuous place…
Planning to Give Notice of Mass Termination under the ESA? What Employers Should Know
In a decision rendered on September 26, 2017, an Ontario court held that an employer violated the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) when it failed to file a Form 1 with the Ministry of Labour (MOL) on the same date that that the employer provided approximately 12 months’ working notice of termination to 77 employees. As a result, the employer was not given any credit for the working notice period that preceded the date it filed the Form 1 with the MOL – a period of over one year. Rather, common law damages will be assessed on the basis of a much smaller working notice period of less than 8 weeks. This decision signals that the failure to file a Form 1 contemporaneously with the giving of notice of mass termination may have costly implications for employers.
Ringing in the New Year with New Pension Plan Funding Rules
This FTR Now describes the Funding Framework and the likely transitional rules that will be of considerable interest for employers when planning for 2018 and beyond, as well as related complementary measures.
Ontario Proposes Key Reforms to the Framework for Collective Bargaining in the Education Sector
Significant proposed reforms to the existing framework for collective bargaining in the education sector may change the way school boards and unions negotiate agreements – and could impact the outcomes achieved at the table. Find out what may be in store…
Ontario Launches Personal Emergency Leave Pilot Project
Ontario has introduced limited amendments to personal emergency leave for certain employers in the automobile sector. In comments to the Ontario Legislature, the Minister of Labour identified the changes as a pilot project suggesting that similar changes may be considered in the future for a wider range of employers…
Ontario Passes Key Healthcare Reforms to Expand LHIN Framework and Integrate Frontline Patient Service Delivery
Ontario is implementing a number of key reforms to the Local Health Integration Network and health services provider system – and the way frontline patient services are delivered across the province…
The Reduced EI Waiting Period: What Employers Need to Know
A reduction to the EI waiting period is expected take effect January 1, 2017. Supplemental unemployment benefit and top-up plan administration will be immediately affected, and short-term disability and sick leave plans may also be impacted. Are you prepared?